The Long Shadow

Note-taking for Principles of Empirical Research with Catherine Voulgarides Alexander, K.L., Entwisle, D.R., & Olson, L. (2014) The Long Shadow: Family Background Disadvantaged Urban Youth, and the Transition to Adulthood. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation. The central message of The Long Shadow is that social mobility in America is a myth. The authors combine …

Testing the effects of game music on cognition

For Jan Plass‘ class on research in games for learning, I’m working on an experiment testing the effects of game soundtracks on cognitive performance. The game in question is All You Can ET, developed by the NYU CREATE Lab. Here’s the music: https://soundcloud.com/ethanhein/all-you-can-et-soundtrack You’re hearing four versions of the basic 32-bar loop: fast major, fast minor, slow …

Marked

Note-taking for Principles of Empirical Research with Catherine Voulgarides Pager, Devah. (2007). MARKED: Race, Crime, and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Page 21 of Pager’s book includes this chart, showing annual prison admissions for drugs by race in the United States. In the 1980s, we imprisoned roughly the same …

Ain’t No Makin’ It

Assignment for Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry with Colleen Larson If you’re looking for a gripping and highly readable (though depressing) sociological study, I strongly recommend this one. The purpose of MacLeod’s study is to understand how class inequality reproduces itself, using the example of two groups of young men living in a housing project. He …

Ideological and Theoretical Assumptions

Note-taking for Principles of Empirical Research with Catherine Voulgarides Artiles, A. J. (2011). Toward an Interdisciplinary Understanding of Educational Equity and Difference: The Case of the Racialization of Ability. Educational Researcher, 40(9), 431-445. Artiles explains how a civil rights victory for learners with disabilities has become a way to oppress racial minority students. He cites …

Intersectionality

Note-taking for Principles of Empirical Research with Catherine Voulgarides. Images of interesting intersections from various sources. Hill, C. P., & Bilge, S. (2016). Intersectionality.

Objectivity, Positivism, and Epistemological Others

Note-taking for Principles of Empirical Research with Catherine Voulgarides Weber, Max. [1904](1949). “Objectivity in Social Science and Social Policy,” In The Methodology of the Social Sciences, Max Weber, translated and edited by Edward Shils and Henry A. Finch. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press. Pages 49-112. Sociology arose in order to make value judgments about measures …

Examining the Assumptions Underpinning Interpretive Inquiry

Note-taking for Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry with Colleen Larson Willis, J.W., (2007) Foundations of Qualitative Research, Sage, chapters 5-6. Postpositivist social science research involves six steps: Find an idea to research. The idea can come from anywhere, including your experience or whatever qualitative data. Develop or select a theory. It can be a nineteenth century …

Games for learning research method overview: interviews

Note-taking for Research on Games and Simulations with Jan Plass Magnusson, C., Rassmus-Gröhn, K., Tollmar, K., and Deaner, E. Haptimap User Study. Gomoll, K. & Nicol, A. (1990). User Observation: Guidelines for Apple Developers. The Apple developer guidelines recommend incorporating user observation and feedback early and often in the software design process. Rather than receiving …

Descriptive Participant Observations on the Culture of the Park Slope Food Coop

Writing assignment for Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry with Colleen Larson The Park Slope Coop (PSFC) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1973. It offers sustainably and ethically produced food and grocery items. Because it needs only to cover costs rather than turn a profit, the PSFC’s prices are substantially lower than a typical Brooklyn grocery …